University of Notre Dame

Huarte won Notre Dame's sixth Heisman while leading the Irish to a turnaround 9-1 record in 1964.

Heisman Winner

John Huarte

QB | Senior | University of Notre Dame

Huarte won Notre Dame’s sixth Heisman while leading the Irish to a turnaround 9-1 record in 1964.

Born and raised in Orange County, California, Huarte was a star quarterback at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, from which he graduated in 1961.

He chose to attend Notre Dame, but barely registered on the radar for the Irish in his first two seasons, attempting just 50 total passes in two seasons as Notre Dame went a combined 7-12.
But Huarte took over the starting job as a 1964 senior and enjoyed a magical year. He threw for 2,062 yards and 16 touchdowns and ranked third nationally in total offense as the Irish finished 9-1 and fell just short of the national title (a late, last-minute loss to USC spoiled that prospect). Until that year a Notre Dame quarterback had never completed 100 passes in a season, but Huarte had 114 completions. His passing yardage total easily passed the previous Irish season record of 1,374 by Bob Williams in 1949. Huarte also ran for three other TDs in 1964. Huarte’s career passing efficiency rating of 144.7 at Notre Dame still ranks among the best in the Irish record books.

Besides winning the Heisman, Huarte was named the United Press International player of the year and a consensus first-team All-American.

A second-round draft selection of the New York Jets, Huarte played with Boston, Philadelphia, Minnesota, Kansas City and Chicago, as well as the Memphis World Football League. He retired in 1975.

Once out of football Huarte began his own highly-successful tile business, Arizona Tile, that specialized in tile, marble and granite countertops and became the largest importer of granite in North America.

His collegiate career earned him selection in 2005 to the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame.

More Articles About John Huarte

Heisman Voting Results

Number of electors: 1104 - Announced: November 24, 1964.

 PlayerClassPositionSchoolTotal Points
1John HuarteSRQBNotre Dame1026
2Jerry RhomeSRQBTulsa952
3Dick ButkusSRC/LBIllinois505
4Bob TimberlakeSRQB/KMichigan361
5Jack SnowSRWRNotre Dame187
6Tucker FredericksonSRFBAuburn184
7Craig MortonSRQBCalifornia181
8Steve DeLongSRNGTennessee176
9Cosmo IacavazziSRRBPrinceton165
10Brian PiccoloSRRBWake Forest124

Three points are awarded for first place on a ballot, with two points for second place and one point for third place.

Heisman Voting By Region

At this time, Heisman voters are spread out across five regions.

South

 Player
1Jerry Rhome
2Tucker Frederickson
3John Huarte
4Steve DeLong
5Brian Piccolo

East

 Player
1John Huarte
2Jerry Rhome
3Cosmo Iacavazzi
4Dick Butkus
5Archie Roberts

Midwest

 Player
1John Huarte
2Mike Garrett
3Jerry Rhome
4Dick Butkus
5Gale Sayers

Southwest

 Player
1Jerry Rhome
2John Huarte
3Dick Butkus
4Craig Morton
5Bob Berry

Far West

 Player
1Craig Morton
2John Huarte
3Jerry Rhome
4Dick Butkus
5Bob Berry

Statistics

An official record of John Huarte’s season stats are not currently available.

Media

John Huarte Honored on Field Golden Heisman Anniversary